Palmer Square Capital BDC Inc. 2026 Q2 Earnings Call

You may begin. Welcome to Palmer Square Capital BDC's second quarter 2026 earnings call.

Joining me this afternoon are Chris Long, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Angie Long, Chief Investment Officer, Matt Bloomfield, President, and Jeff Fox, Chief Financial Officer and Director. Palmer Square Capital BDC's second quarter 2026 financial results were released earlier today and can also be accessed on Palmer Square's investor relations website at palmersquarebdc.com. We have also arranged for a replay of today's event that can be accessed on our website. During this call, I want to remind you that the forward-looking statements we make are based on current expectations. The statements on this call that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including and without limitation, market conditions caused by uncertainties surrounding interest rates, changing economic conditions, and other factors we identified in our filings with the SEC. Although we believe that the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of those assumptions can prove to be inaccurate, and as a result, the forward-looking statements based on those assumptions can be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made during this call are made as of the date hereof, and Palmer Square Capital BDC assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements unless required by law. For obtaining copies of SEC-related filings, please visit our website at palmersquarebdc.com.

With that, I will now turn the call over to Chris Long.

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for Palmer Square Capital BDC's second quarter 2026 conference call. On today's call, I will provide an overview of our second quarter results, touch on our market outlook, then turn the call to the team to discuss the current industry dynamics at play, our portfolio activity, and financial results. During the second quarter, our team deployed $72.4 million of capital and generated total and net investment income of $27.3 million and $12 million, respectively. We delivered net investment income of $0.39 per share and paid a $0.39 per share total dividend, which includes a $0.03 supplemental distribution above our base dividend. Notably, our dividend payout represents an attractive 11.8% yield on NAV and 16.3% yield on the stock price as of July 31st. We remain committed to a disciplined capital allocation strategy that prioritizes long-term shareholder value.

Consistent with that approach, our board has declared a third quarter base dividend of $0.36 per share, with the supplemental dividend to be determined in the normal course. At the same time, with deal activity across both private credit and the broadly syndicated loan market remaining subdued, our board and management team concluded that expanding our share repurchase program during the quarter represented a compelling use of capital and an attractive risk-adjusted opportunity to create value for shareholders. Our June NAV per share was $13.21, reflecting fair value adjustments resulting from pricing moves within the broadly syndicated loan market and reflecting the complex market picture we'll discuss further throughout the call.

While the macro environment continues to be fluid, we believe our enhanced level of transparency, particularly our monthly disclosed net asset value per share, provides meaningful value to investors and should help provide confidence in the stated value of PSBD's portfolio. I want to take a moment to highlight one of the key advantages of the Palmer Square Capital Management platform. As one of the industry's leading global CLO managers, we believe Palmer Square provides our BDC with a clear competitive advantage. The breadth of our platform gives us visibility across the entire universe of broadly syndicated loan issuance, allowing us to evaluate a wide range of investment opportunities and selectively deploy capital into those we believe offer the most attractive risk-adjusted returns.

We believe this sourcing advantage, combined with our scale and long-standing relationships in the syndicated loan market, may be underappreciated by equity investors who are more familiar with BDCs focused primarily on traditional direct lending. Turning to the debate around software, while AI-driven disruption continues to impact investor sentiment, we remain confident in the performance of our software portfolio. As we've discussed on prior earnings calls, we have been deliberate in allocating capital to software businesses operating in areas such as cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, and ERP systems, segments we believe are well-positioned to benefit from increased AI adoption and are led by management teams with a demonstrated ability to adapt and innovate. While AI has become a dominant narrative shaping investor sentiment for both the broader market and the BDC sector specifically, we believe the underlying market dynamics are more nuanced.

We are seeing the effects of 2021 and 2022 loan vintages reaching maturity in a more constrained exit environment with a higher interest rate backdrop. As these loans mature, outcomes are likely to become increasingly company specific. Many businesses will likely refinance successfully, albeit at a higher cost of capital, while others may face more meaningful challenges. These dynamics are highly dependent on individual borrower profiles and should not be used to paint whole sectors or the broader BSL in private credit markets as structurally weak. We believe this environment reinforces the value of disciplined credit selection and active portfolio management. Given the breadth of our platform and the flexibility of our investment approach, we believe we are well-positioned to navigate this period of increased dispersion and identify attractive opportunities as they emerge. With that, I will hand the call over to Angie.

Thank you, Chris. During the second quarter, PSBD's portfolio continued to perform steadily despite another period of elevated macro uncertainty. While markets navigated the conflict in Iran, ceasefire discussions, and continued scrutiny around software and AI exposure, we believe the portfolio's underlying credit quality remained resilient, as evidenced by PSBD's 0.29% non-accrual rate. With muted activity across both private credit and the broadly syndicated market, we remained disciplined in our capital allocation, prioritizing opportunities that we believe offered the strongest risk-adjusted returns. As Chris mentioned, that included expanding our share repurchase program, which we viewed as an attractive and accretive use of capital, while near-term market opportunities remained more limited. At the same time, we generated solid net income during the quarter and believe our disciplined approach leaves us well positioned to capitalize on a healthier investment environment as market activity and refinancing volumes improve over time.

Stepping back, the second quarter included several mini cycles driven by geopolitical and macroeconomic factors. Federal Reserve policy remains a subject of active debate, creating continued uncertainty around the interest rate outlook. While we are not macro forecasters, persistent inflation, driven in part by the Iran war's impact on energy prices, remains an important consideration for our portfolio companies. Turning to software, despite signs of stabilization earlier in the quarter, loans weakened meaningfully toward quarter end as sentiment deteriorated. With fewer market transactions available to help inform valuations, it has become increasingly challenging for investors to benchmark private assets. We believe this dynamic has contributed to the disconnect between public market sentiment and the underlying performance of our portfolio. We expect that in the coming quarters, increased refinancing activity will be a catalyst to help establish valuation and spread benchmarks.

Even with the current dynamics, we continue to believe many of these businesses are well-positioned, although individual outcomes will vary and ultimately depend on how effectively companies incorporate AI into their products to enhance value. We are recently seeing discounted opportunities in the broadly syndicated market, whether in software or certain cyclicals, but we remain disciplined and prudent in underwriting them. As Chris mentioned, with dispersion elevated across credits, many of these situations involve layered capital structure complexity, which places a premium on the kind of idiosyncratic credit by credit analysis our broad investment platform enables. Looking more closely at our portfolio, this quarter we focused on optimizing the right side of our balance sheet to enhance financial flexibility while reducing our overall cost of capital.

As part of these efforts, we successfully reset and extended our BDC CLO, lowering the weighted average cost of debt to SOFR plus 1.39% from SOFR plus 1.72%, while extending the reinvestment period to July 2031 and maturity to July 2039. The transaction, which closed on July 15th, is expected to be fully accretive after refinancing costs beginning in the fourth quarter. Given the lower cost of our term finance CLO, which is currently a more efficient funding source for BSL investments, we have reduced the excess capacity on our Bank of America BSL funding facility to lower associated unused fees. These actions reduce carrying costs while preserving liquidity should M&A activity accelerate. We've maintained availability under our Wells Fargo facility, which we intend to deploy primarily towards private credit opportunities where we currently see more attractive spreads. Overall, we are very pleased with our strong balance sheet position.